Businesses take on council on potential towing law

Some towing companies protested a proposed city law aimed at curbing predatory towing before the Grand Forks City Council’s safety committee Tuesday.

Boiled down, what Randy Hjelmstad, owner of Randy’s Lock Key & Towing, and Stuart Pinske, owner of Stuart’s Towing and Repair, argued was the City Council ought not to tell them how to run their business.

Hjelmstad objected to being required to accept credit cards, which, unlike cash, allow their owners to dispute charges. He said it can take weeks to collect the money.

Pinske, whose business is based in East Grand Forks, objected to the requirement that he must store towed vehicles in Grand Forks. He claimed that the new law interfered with the interstate commerce clause of the Constitution.

Committee member Terry Bjerke, who said he usually prefers less regulation to more, said this situation is different. “In no other business I know that can you take $50,000 of somebody’s property and say, “Pay me what I want or it’s too bad, so sad.’”

The law has to balance the interests of the vehicle owner, the owner of the property the vehicle parked on and the towing company, he said.

Complaints

Randy’s and Stuart’s fees were the reason the law was written in the first place.

In 2006, a number of drivers towed by the two companies complained to the city that they had been charged from $160 to $260 when city law limits towing fees to $100 for so-called involuntary tows and $10 a day for storage.

The city fined both companies, but only Randy’s paid the $100 fine. Stuart’s went to court and ultimately prevailed. The judge said because the vehicles Stuart’s towed are stored in East Grand Forks, they were out of the city’s jurisdiction.

Committee Chairman Curt Kreun said the jurisdictional question is why the proposed law requires storage in Grand Forks. There is no intent to discriminate specifically against businesses of another state, he said, because the law applies equally to a towing company in East Grand Forks as it does to one in Grafton, N.D.

Money matters

Because of it would likely require Stuart’s to build a storage lot in Grand Forks or contract with a company that already has such a lot, the fees in the proposed law has increased. Towing alone would be $135. Towing with a dolly or a flatbed would add another $50. The first day of storage would be free and every additional day $25.

Bjerke said that’s only fair because of the potential increase in costs for the towing companies.

In addition, the proposed law allows vehicle owners access to their vehicle to fetch purses and other belongings.

Both Hjelmstad and Pinske said they’d have trouble taking credit cards because they’re the only employees. They’d have to drive back to their business where the credit card machines are every time someone wants to pay that way, they said.

Kreun said the logistics is up to them. They have to accommodate the customer, he said, and society is just moving away from cash.

Reach Tran at (701) 780-1248; (800) 477-6572, ext. 248; or send email to ttran@gfherald.com.

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